Pages

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Nice to Hear

Let's start off with a few random questions....

1. Pokemon Go...your thoughts? Are you playing? Do you even know what it is?I had my oldest daughter explain all the hype to me. And actually it's pretty amazing! Michelle Obama wanted to come up with a plan to get people up and moving but it never took off. Nintendo did in a couple short days. Now a lot of those video game junkies are out and about searching high and low for Pokemon. Genious! It's free and interactive. Of course you still have to be aware of your surroundings just like you would in any public setting. But I like it. Way to go Nintendo!

2. What was something you collected as a child? Do you still have that collection? If you're a parent what's something your own children collected? Have you ever camped out, stood in a crazy long queue, or paid a ridiculous sum for a 'collectible'?I had a couple nice dolls but as far as collecting goes, I don't recall collecting too much. Maybe music. My husband collected baseball cards since he was a little boy. When he got older he started collecting NASCAR items for his favorite driver. My kids on the other hand collect all kinds of things. Danielle collected fabric and craft supplies and BOOKS...lots and lots of them. Kyle collects guns, Pop! Vinyl Figures, music, and games of all kinds. Curtis collects magic cards. Lexi is also collecting books. 3. "Collect moments, not things"...tell us about a moment you've added to your collection this summer.

I don't know about this summer, but in April our oldest daughter got married. We add that to our favorite memories.4. What's something collecting dust in your home right now? Any plans to do something about it?

The China hutch in our dining room is collecting dust and it's driving me nuts! For a while there we took the top off the hutch and that prevented the clutter. I think it's time to do that again. 5. A favorite song relating to time?

Probably the song 1999 by Prince. Each time I hear it, it gets stuck in my brain and I find myself singing the words in my head the rest of the day.

6. What's been your most frightening or your most interesting encounter with wildlife?

Frightening moment: Riding my bike when I was in 5th of 6th grade and having a rattle snake slither right underneath me as I went down the street. OR when I nearly stepped on a snake mowing the lawn as a teenager.

BUT the best moments with wildlife would have to be the one's my parents presented to me. My parents owned two margay cats when I was a little girl and we were living in Texas. This is a margay....

We only had one at a time, but this was not just your average pet. I remember my parents telling me that anytime they let the cat out of its room I had to sit very still, and the never turn your back to the car rule applied. One of the cats would come up behind my Mon sitting on the couch and bat at her hair hanging down. She had a bob hairstyle then. My parents eventually had to get rid of the cat when my little brother was born because my parents were worried the cat might attack my new baby brother.

Then when we moved to Arizona my parents were very involved with the Phoenix Zoo and one night after the zoo was closed I got to spent time with and ride the new baby elephant. He was so cute and I remember being surprised that his back was all fuzzy with fur because he was so little. I also learned that a lot of that fur would eventually fall out.

7. On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set his foot down on the moon. If you could travel to the moon would you go? Why or why not?

Yes, of course I'd go!!! Talk about a once in a lifetime opportunity! I'd go to see space and the moon of course, and to be able to say, "I did that!"

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Last night, after work, Kyle and I went down to run the car through emissions. Guess what? It passed!! I was so happy. Then when I tried to register the car online it just would not let me do it. I tried all night thinking that the emissions thing just needed time to get into the system. Wrong! Come to find out, I had to go down to the DMV. I couldn't wait and Kyle wouldn't do it for me because as of today the tags were expired and we couldn't get another 3-day pass. Kyle refused because if he got pulled over and ticketed, that would mean trouble at work and possibly prevent him from pursuing future career options. That meant I had to do it. I took the day off work and went and sat down at the DMV all morning and half the day. I no-likey the DMV! When I got there at 7:30am the line was wrapped around the building and growing by the minute. When they finally opened the doors at 8 am we all filed through the doors, only to stand in the same line inside. At least it was in air conditioning. When I got up to the counter and explained why I was there the lady at the counter asked me if I tried the Keosk. I then explained the trouble I was having with the online site and she then gave me my number. J805 was my number. I went to find a seat since I knew it was going to be a bit before my number was called because they were still calling out A and B numbers. I sat and tried to wait patiently while checking email and messages on my phone, but that got boring and I ended up people watching. There are some pretty interesting people that end up at the DMV, but the one person that stood out to me was this lady there with her son. She was dressed in a straight skirt with a white top and slip on shoes. They looked like this...

She had her Louis Vuitton purse over her shoulder and tucked up under her arm. She was very well dressed in a very light and summery kind of way. She must have walked all over that place in those heels like she had been walking in those heels since she was very young. It didn't seem to bother her in the least. No sore feet. No desire to sit down and she seemed to be talking to all kinds of people she was standing in line next to and even other people sitting. Then when she turned her back to me I could see the outline of a garment top underneath her blouse. I was impressed that she was so well dressed and seemed to be genuinely kind and friendly. That was awesome to see. I saw other LDS mothers there with their children but none quite as well dressed and friendly. The well dressed lady's son must have passed his driving test because she gave him a hug and kiss and off they went.

Once the well dressed lady and her son left, I tried to watch other people, but none were as fun to watch so I turned back to my phone.

Eventually my number was called. The lady at the counter said the reason I could not renew my tags online was because I used a 30 day tag at first while we tried to get the check engine light issue resolved. She said that 30 day passed made it look like I had two registrations on the car and the computer system didn't like that. The DMV employee reviewed the documents I brought with me, the proof that the car wasn't ready for emissions each time we tried to get it through, the repair bill, and our recent emissions slip that showed that we finally passed. She did a few things on her computer and told me it would be $205.33. Thankfully my dad gave me $300.00 towards this, otherwise I don't know what we would have done. Thanks Dad for saving the day! With our normal bills and our electric bill being so expensive during the hot summers in Arizona, it's been rough. I know we will get through all of this somehow. I just keep hoping it won't always be such a struggle. It's stressful enough and I am just tired of being stressed out.

We received a phone call from Social Security on Monday. We missed the call because I didn't hear them calling because my phone was on silent and I was still at work when the call came in. We called back and left three messages, but no call back yet. So, we called again this afternoon. The lady that answered the phone said they made a decision but she couldn't give us the decision over the phone. Then she said that they needed to schedule a phone interview and that the case was in their quality control department and had been for a while now. I told Kevin it sounds like they denied the case and that they just needed to get their ducks in a row to confirm their decision. They also said that if Kevin could come down to their local office they could give him their answer and he could also clear things up for them. I tried to get Kevin to go down there but he is dealing with a few things right now and can't leave the house. I'm hoping they either call him back next week or Kevin is up to going down there sometime next week with Kyle. I told Kevin if they don't come up with an answer in our favor soon, we are going to need to move. I also told him that shoot in 5 more years we qualify to move into one of those 55 plus retirement apartments. He wasn't too excited about that thought. Neither was I, but it's the truth. We'll see what happens. I think my issue is that I've managed to tie a figurative knot in the rope that we are hanging by up until a certain point. Then each time something gets delayed longer or doesn't happen I try to tie another knot and you know what happens. Eventually there's no more rope to tie. That's how I feel, and I'm sure how my family feels to.

I read something the other day about spouses of spinal cord patients. Here is what it said...

I will admit, this hits the nail right on the head, and I was surprised to read this, even though this is right on. No this doesn't offer much hope, but it did help me realize that what I'm feeling and going through is normal. That's always a good thing.

Tuesday I had an appointment with my doctor. She was awesome. She pointed out a few things that I didn't realize and then reminded me that my kids are grieving just like Kevin and I. And maybe they are feeling that because of the way things have turned out that maybe their sense of security isn't as secure anymore. I didn't even think about all of that. She also reminded me that by doing exactly what I am doing and trying to hold everything together, that I am showing my children by my actions that our situation doesn't change how I feel about their father and that family is family, no matter what and that eternal marriage is EVERYTHING! And that I should be proud of myself and take pride in my determination to get through this and make it to our goal. Of course these are things I knew, but it was nice to hear it from someone else and that I was actually doing something right. I guess I don't hear that very often. After a while you begin to second guess yourself sometimes. Needless to say, I walked out of there feeling pretty good.

We received a letter from Curtis this week.

Hey Everyone!

This week was awesome. This area is so cool. We get tojust go contacting in Central Park and we get to explore the wholeisland. One day we will be up in Harlem on 125th street the next wewill be down on Chambers Street near ground zero. The members are socool. They take us out to all the little hidden restaurants for falafelor halal food. Elder Gxxxxx and I have made the choice to find thebest dollar slice of pizza place here. There is one right down the street fromus and it's been the best so far. Our apartment is in Hell's Kitchenwhich is a pretty nice area. There's a lot of really good places to eatright next to us, which makes it good. We try to stay away from theapartment as much as possible because there is just to many people totalk to here. So we don't want to waste time cooking and eating food inthe apartment. Elder Gxxxxxx is awesome. He's such a good teacher. It's ridiculous. He makes me wish I took mission prep and seminary andeverything a lot more seriously because he just gets it. Well, I gottago we're gonna go play "spike ball". Whatever that is. hahah

Love,

Elder SchmidtSent from my iPad

Then tonight we received this email....(and photo)

Hello! My name is Gabby Jensen. I am visiting my Grandparents who are currently serving as Missionaries in the New York Manhattan temple. On my way to dinner tonight, I ran into your Elders. They were coming out of the church building with a man that they had just met earlier today and who they had just taught. They were beaming! I had the opportunity to talk with them and they are both such awesome Elders! They were so excited to tell me all about their mission. Their joy of serving the Lord reminded me of how much I loved serving in Iowa! (I've been home almost 18 months!) You really should be so proud of them and the wonderful work they are doing. Very VERY special souls are sent to New York as representatives of Christ, because not everyone could serve a mission in an area like this. Your boys are happy and healthy! Just thought you may enjoy a little mid-week picture and update on them. :) Have a great weekend!

It's been a busy couple of days. Lots to still do. Next week Lexi goes on a Laurel Retreat to San Diego, then shortly after that school starts. We still have lots to do to get things in order for her with school. It will happen. One way or another.